Hajin hauled Juna by the collar as the first slab burst from the cistern and slammed the damaged wall's underside.
"Not that way, damn it!" he barked, spinning her toward the open strip beside the surviving wagon.
"The wall's coming down, and you're not going with it."
Loccy jammed her hammer's head beneath a loose block and shoved it aside before either could trip across it.
The burial mound exploded outward, hurling stone across the road while heat stripped the last frost from the nearest walls. Hajin dropped behind his cleared block with both companions pressed beside him, keeping his face turned from the flying fragments.
"Everybody down!" Seret roared, driving his shield above the nearest litter while gravel sprayed among the horses.
Brand dragged a driver below the wagon bench, leaving the leaking barrel where no hand could safely reach it.
"The service door carries the same ward!" he yelled, lifting his shield out of the mud once the last fragments landed.
